ExxonMobil has filed an international arbitration claim against the European Union over carbon capture and storage mandates in the Net Zero Industry Act. Three subsidiaries, including a UK-incorporated entity, are using the Energy Charter Treaty's sunset clause to bring the case even though the UK and EU both left the treaty. The clause keeps investor-state dispute rights alive until 2045. At issue is the NZIA requirement that oil and gas producers provide CO2 injection capacity. Exxon calls the mandate ideological. Trade and climate groups say the case is one of seven ECT claims from UK-registered firms since 2024. They are urging the UK and EU to sign an inter se agreement at the November 20 summit to switch off the sunset clause between them, a step legal experts say would cut off future arbitration exposure without new legislation.
